Local artist Marinna Shareef gave members of the public a peek inside her mind at her recent exhibition, Polar Mythology. Through immersive artwork, she showcased what it is like to live with and navigate bipolar disorder.
The maximalist exhibition was on display at the Medulla Art Gallery in Woodbrook from August 29 to September 23, with an artist’s talk held on September 17.
Shareef, who has a degree in fine arts from UWI, St Augustine, said she had been working on the pieces over the past seven years. The 28-year-old recalled being diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was 18, after initially being misdiagnosed with depression.
“And I knew it was incorrect because it didn’t explain everything, and the medication did not address both sides,” she told Guardian Media.
At the artist’s talk, she mentioned that it can sometimes be difficult for others to fully understand the condition. So, naturally, she tried the approach she knows best – art.
“It’s really important to me to show in my art that this is how I feel. A lot of it is about getting rid of that stigma attached to mental health and mental illnesses.”
Noting that some people had expressed fear of her work over the years, she said the subject was nothing to be scared of.
“We’re so not used to being able to confront these feelings that it’s scary to (some), but for me, this is just everyday life,” she explained.
When she first began creating these kinds of pieces, she used portraits of other people. However, her lecturer asked: Why not use yourself? As a result, many of the pieces feature Shareef herself.
The bright, colourful pieces grabbed the attention of attendees as they made their way through the artistic experience.
Living among what she dubbed the God of Mania and God of Depression, Shareef also showcased things that help ease her emotions, including prescribed medication and some of her favourite snacks.
“In making this so-called world, a lot of them are based on metaphors that I think of when I’m going through these episodes. And in my art, I always wanted to be Caribbean (and) I like to explore nostalgia, and I love thinking about what I used to eat when I was small and the joy I got from that,” she said.
Local favourites such as Kiss cakes, caramel, Big Foot, Solo and other treats feature among the items on display.
As for including medication, she said some people had asked whether she found it a bit invasive to display it as part of her art. But, once again, her response was that it was her reality.
“A lot of times, we look at people with mental illnesses and we don’t have any sort of conversation about it. And to me, it’s my life, so it makes sense to talk about it through my art since it’s natural to me.”
She added: “I used to hide everything I was feeling (before thinking, ‘How can I get people to understand this feeling?’”
One audience member pointed out that people often speak of battling demons rather than referring to mental health symptoms or challenges as gods. The person then asked why she had chosen that approach.
“They’re not demons because it’s me,” she told them. “They reign over me and control how I feel and even sometimes (cause) physical symptoms. So I could see the relation as to why some may use the term demons, but for me it was more so someone is controlling me and I am just their subject and dealing with these emotions.”
Over the years, she added, she had been most excited by artwork that “showed feelings” and reassured her that it was okay both to have and express them.
“Art is something I can’t not (sic) do,” she told Guardian Media. “It is fulfilling a need to create, express myself and it’s therapeutic when I explore different things that I want to understand about myself, but it’s also something where if I don’t do it, it will feel like something is missing.”
She said she had received a lot of positive feedback about the exhibition, adding that attendees particularly enjoyed its immersive nature.
